The subject matter described herein relates generally to a poke-in electrical connector for terminating electrical wires.
Electrical systems have a need to electrically connect wires to a circuit board. For example, the wires may be power wires to provide power to the circuit board and other components associated with the circuit board, such as drivers for LED lighting applications. In some known systems, the wires are terminated directly to the circuit board, such as by soldering. The soldering process is time consuming and expensive because the process is difficult to automate and is not repeatable leading to faulty terminations. Additionally, the wires are permanently attached to the circuit board after soldering so rerouting of the wires or repurposing of the circuit board is impractical. In other known systems, electrical connectors are provided that are terminated to the circuit board to electrically connect to the wires. In some such systems, the wires are not easily or practically removable from the electrical connectors. In other systems, the electrical connectors are through-hole mounted connectors having solder pins that are wave soldered to the circuit board. Such connectors are not readily adaptable to pick and place circuit board manufacturing as the circuit board must be processed through a wave solder process. The connectors are typically bulky.